Q3 EPS Estimates for Costco Wholesale Boosted by DA Davidson

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – DA Davidson boosted their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Costco Wholesale in a report released on Thursday, April 10th. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker now forecasts that the retailer will earn $4.28 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $4.26. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on COST. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $963.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $982.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $949.47. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $702.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.45 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.0% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 103,903 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $98,269,000 after purchasing an additional 6,794 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.9% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,566 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,427,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Harrington Investments INC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 5,416 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,122,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. City State Bank now owns 2,283 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,159,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.